7 year old Anishka sits alone in the dark late at night, cat on her lap dog by her side, the television is on. She cannot sleep but that is about the only problem. As she focuses her attention on the television, all she sees are people brutally being murdered, women crying and effortlessly struggling to leave behind the remains of their dying children whose body parts were scattered by bombs and lives been lost with a blink of an eye. A tear slowly begins to trickle down her smooth delicate face as she murmur these words to herself without fail to stop, “When is my turn to die, when will I become like them.” Then and there she realises that she is a lucky sod.
Anishka is a Sinhalese. Her parents were raised and born in Sri Lanka. They later died due to health problems and poor Anishka was taken in by an Indian Tamil family at the age of one. She never got the chance to know who her real parents were The Indian Tamils were shipped to Sri Lanka by the British in 1940s. The British gave good benefits to the Tamils over the local Sri Lankans. This angered many Sinhalese and when the British left in 1948 and granted Sri Lanka its independence, the Sinhalese decided to take their revenge slowly by changing some policies. Little had they known that the changes would results in millions of lives being lost with a blink of an eye.
Little Anishka did not know what it felt like to be like a normal child in an environment where people do not walk around with guns killing men, women and even little children like her. She lived in fear all her life; even in a place she called her home, Anishka was the centre of her step parent’s anger. She was the punching bag, be it school or home, her life was centred around violence.
“Ah ma, please don’t make me go to school today, I…I p-p-promise to be a good girl if you let me g-g-go with you to work,” stuttered Anishka in agitation.
Slowly lifting her arm, her mum smacked her across the face and accused her of being disrespectful, “don’t you ever question my decisions.” she said, out of breathe as though she had just run a race.
Trying to be strong, Anishka lifted her frail, weak body as she struggled to put a sentence a together, “s-s-sorry, ah ma, I w-w-wont d-d-do it again.”
She picked up what looked like a torn plastic bag which was on the verge of breaking, opened the door and headed for school. Trying to fight back tears with fail as they slowly streamed down her pale rough cheeks which looked like they have not been washed in months. As she entered the school gates, she felt the cold stares of her Tamil classmates come upon her. Though Anishka was a Sinhalese, she was raised Tamil and that was the only language she was exposed to. She therefore went to a tamil school. The tamil students in her class shunned her as well. They were afraid to talk as they themselves were taught to hate anyone that didn’t look like them.
“My brother didn’t get spot into a university after he worked very hard for it, my mum says it’s because of people like you,” cursed the boy angrily at Anishka.
With tears in her eyes she tried to fight back, “it’s not my fault, I-I-I didn’t ask them to do it,” she cried in total anguish.
Realising what was going on a teacher rushed to her side as she reprimanded the boy, Anishka is one of us, stop treating her a an outcast.”
Anishka was relived as she heard the school bell go off, she was happy to go home, but sad that she was headed for another nightmare at home. On the way home she tripped over dead bodies of helpless people, crying in pain. Her anger towards the Sinhalese grew as she realised how much trouble they caused “people of her on kind.” Instead of heading home, Anishka headed to an army camp where she heard that they trained young children to be brave and fight for their people. Anishka went to join a group known as the ltte.
Anishka was brought up to believe violence was the only answer to solve problems. She was raised and taught to fight people of her kind.
Thursday 23 July 2009
JUSTICE
Anishka sits alone in the dark late at night, cat on her lap dog by her side, the television is on. She cannot sleep but that is about the only problem. As she focuses her attention on the television, all she sees are people brutally being murdered, women crying and effortlessly struggling to leave behind the remains of their dying children whose body parts were scattered by bombs and lives been lost with a blink of an eye. A tear slowly begins to trickle down her smooth delicate face as she murmur these words to herself without fail to stop, “When is my turn to die, when will I become like them.” Then and there she realises that she is a lucky sod.
Anishka is a Sri Lankan Tamil. Her grandparents were raised and born in Sri Lanka. They later died due to health problems and poor Anishka was taken in by an Indian Tamil family. The Indian Tamils were shipped to Sri Lanka by the British in 1940s. The British gave good benefits to the Indian Tamils over the local Sri Lankans. This angered many Sri Lankans and when the British left in 1948 and granted Sri Lanka its independence, the Sri Lankans decided to take their revenge slowly by changing some policies. Little had they known that the changes would results in millions getting killed.
It all began in1948 when Anishka’s foster parents went to try and get her citizenship rights has her legal parents had left her with no identity documents. They approached the government house and noticed that there was a long cue made up of mostly Tamils, who were there to also get citizenship rights. It was a hot day and they cue stretched out of the building into the hot scotching sun. They waited for hours and hours with the cue barely moving. The sky was steadily growing dark as they finally entered the building. As the people were leaving the building, Anishka noticed how disappointed they looked. Some were crying on their knees and begging for citizenship so that their children can go to school and have a better life. While others were willing to sell some of their kids so that they themselves can have citizenship rights and live a better life. Tension and suspense had filled the atmosphere of those waiting in the queue.
“Next,” A women from the counter shouted.
Realising it was their turn, Anishka took here mums hand and they headed for the counter.“Madam, this is Anishka, her parents died of illness and I took her in. they left her with no documents so I came to apply for citizenship for her.” Said Anishka’s mum.
“Are you originally from Sri Lanka,” asked the woman in an inhuman manner.
“No madam, I’m from India” answered my mum“Then I’m sorry but we can’t grant your daughter citizenship, what if she is really your child and you lying on her behalf”
“No madam she is not, please madam please, she has been through a lot. Pleas help her,” pleaded my mum in agony.
“Please don’t waste my time, next” she shouted with a sly smile across her face, as she turned her attention to the next person.
A puddle of tears filled my eyes as I left the building. My mum picked me and told me,
“Hey Nish, its going to be okay, I want you to walk with your head high, don’t worry as long as we are together it will be fine. Now let me see a smile on your pretty little face”
Anishka wiped her eyes, gave her mum a hug and they walked out of the building together and headed home. As they approached their village in south western Sri Lanka they sensesed that something was wrong. There were people walking out of the village with a small plastic bags which contained their belongings. Smoke filled Anishka’s lungs as she scanned the place to see what was going. Her mum pulled and began running towards what was left of their house only to noticed that it had been consumed in the fire. She noticed a white note on the floor. She picked it up and slowly began to read it. Her hands began shivering and her legs trembled as she read the words that were written on them:
“Tamils aren’t welcome here anymore; go back to where you came from and stop polluting our air.”
Filled with shocked she turned to Anishka trying hard to fight back her tears, and told her that what she watched on TV had now come to our village and it was time for them to go. She assured her that it’s going to be okay but realised that her words sounded fake to her ears to. Anishka, her mum and other Tamils living in the area, headed to the highlands to join the majority Indian Tamils that were living there.
On the way there they met an old friend by name of Vengadesh, who was also an Indian Tamil. He was Anishka’s guardian who found a family for her after her parents died. He was the breadwinner of his family and he was helping Anishka to.
“What’s wrong, why do u look so down.”
“The government says that we should learn Sinhalese within 3 years if not we cant work their anymore, said Vengadesh.
Anishka failed to understand why he couldn’t learn a new language because to her three years was a long time. Little did she know that Vengadesh was illiterate and therefore it will be nearly impossible to learn a new language. She gave him a hug, wiped his tears and told him not to worry that everything would be okay. Taken aback by what she did, he put a small smile on his face and told her she was right. Little did she know that this was just the beginning of struggle that would take years to end, a journey just begun.
Many Tamils were outraged by the way they were being treated by the Sinhalese. A small group of angry Tamils began a movement called the ltte. This movement began fighting against the Sri Lankan armies as they felt that their were being unfairly treated and there was nobody there to listen to them. The movement was set up in the highlands were Anishka stayed with her mum, because there were lot of Tamils there, the Sri Lankan armies began bombing the highlands and other parts full of Tamils. Young boys were taken away from their families and made to fight in there war. Everyday Anishka and her mum lived in fear of their lives. Riots were taking place all. There were bodies of dead innocent children and women who were at the wrong place at a wrong time. People around the village lived their lives not knowing when their time was coming.
The fighting continued over a long period of time. Young children such as Anishka were denied a childhood that people around the world take for granted. They woke up to dead bodies on their doorsteps and slept in fear of not waking up to see tomorrow. All their lives they lived in terror, with food and clothes being their last worry. Like little anishika, all that went through their minds were; “When is my turn to die, when will I become like them.”
Anishka is a Sri Lankan Tamil. Her grandparents were raised and born in Sri Lanka. They later died due to health problems and poor Anishka was taken in by an Indian Tamil family. The Indian Tamils were shipped to Sri Lanka by the British in 1940s. The British gave good benefits to the Indian Tamils over the local Sri Lankans. This angered many Sri Lankans and when the British left in 1948 and granted Sri Lanka its independence, the Sri Lankans decided to take their revenge slowly by changing some policies. Little had they known that the changes would results in millions getting killed.
It all began in1948 when Anishka’s foster parents went to try and get her citizenship rights has her legal parents had left her with no identity documents. They approached the government house and noticed that there was a long cue made up of mostly Tamils, who were there to also get citizenship rights. It was a hot day and they cue stretched out of the building into the hot scotching sun. They waited for hours and hours with the cue barely moving. The sky was steadily growing dark as they finally entered the building. As the people were leaving the building, Anishka noticed how disappointed they looked. Some were crying on their knees and begging for citizenship so that their children can go to school and have a better life. While others were willing to sell some of their kids so that they themselves can have citizenship rights and live a better life. Tension and suspense had filled the atmosphere of those waiting in the queue.
“Next,” A women from the counter shouted.
Realising it was their turn, Anishka took here mums hand and they headed for the counter.“Madam, this is Anishka, her parents died of illness and I took her in. they left her with no documents so I came to apply for citizenship for her.” Said Anishka’s mum.
“Are you originally from Sri Lanka,” asked the woman in an inhuman manner.
“No madam, I’m from India” answered my mum“Then I’m sorry but we can’t grant your daughter citizenship, what if she is really your child and you lying on her behalf”
“No madam she is not, please madam please, she has been through a lot. Pleas help her,” pleaded my mum in agony.
“Please don’t waste my time, next” she shouted with a sly smile across her face, as she turned her attention to the next person.
A puddle of tears filled my eyes as I left the building. My mum picked me and told me,
“Hey Nish, its going to be okay, I want you to walk with your head high, don’t worry as long as we are together it will be fine. Now let me see a smile on your pretty little face”
Anishka wiped her eyes, gave her mum a hug and they walked out of the building together and headed home. As they approached their village in south western Sri Lanka they sensesed that something was wrong. There were people walking out of the village with a small plastic bags which contained their belongings. Smoke filled Anishka’s lungs as she scanned the place to see what was going. Her mum pulled and began running towards what was left of their house only to noticed that it had been consumed in the fire. She noticed a white note on the floor. She picked it up and slowly began to read it. Her hands began shivering and her legs trembled as she read the words that were written on them:
“Tamils aren’t welcome here anymore; go back to where you came from and stop polluting our air.”
Filled with shocked she turned to Anishka trying hard to fight back her tears, and told her that what she watched on TV had now come to our village and it was time for them to go. She assured her that it’s going to be okay but realised that her words sounded fake to her ears to. Anishka, her mum and other Tamils living in the area, headed to the highlands to join the majority Indian Tamils that were living there.
On the way there they met an old friend by name of Vengadesh, who was also an Indian Tamil. He was Anishka’s guardian who found a family for her after her parents died. He was the breadwinner of his family and he was helping Anishka to.
“What’s wrong, why do u look so down.”
“The government says that we should learn Sinhalese within 3 years if not we cant work their anymore, said Vengadesh.
Anishka failed to understand why he couldn’t learn a new language because to her three years was a long time. Little did she know that Vengadesh was illiterate and therefore it will be nearly impossible to learn a new language. She gave him a hug, wiped his tears and told him not to worry that everything would be okay. Taken aback by what she did, he put a small smile on his face and told her she was right. Little did she know that this was just the beginning of struggle that would take years to end, a journey just begun.
Many Tamils were outraged by the way they were being treated by the Sinhalese. A small group of angry Tamils began a movement called the ltte. This movement began fighting against the Sri Lankan armies as they felt that their were being unfairly treated and there was nobody there to listen to them. The movement was set up in the highlands were Anishka stayed with her mum, because there were lot of Tamils there, the Sri Lankan armies began bombing the highlands and other parts full of Tamils. Young boys were taken away from their families and made to fight in there war. Everyday Anishka and her mum lived in fear of their lives. Riots were taking place all. There were bodies of dead innocent children and women who were at the wrong place at a wrong time. People around the village lived their lives not knowing when their time was coming.
The fighting continued over a long period of time. Young children such as Anishka were denied a childhood that people around the world take for granted. They woke up to dead bodies on their doorsteps and slept in fear of not waking up to see tomorrow. All their lives they lived in terror, with food and clothes being their last worry. Like little anishika, all that went through their minds were; “When is my turn to die, when will I become like them.”
Saturday 18 July 2009
JUSTICE
Narrative
Anishka sits alone in the dark late at night, cat on her lap dog by her side, the television is on. She cannot sleep but that is about the only problem. As she focuses her attention on the television, all she sees are people brutally being murdered, women crying and effortlessly struggling to leave behind the remains of their dying children whose body parts were scattered by bombs and lives been lost with a blink of an eye. A tear slowly begins to trickle down her smooth delicate face as she murmur these words to herself without fail to stop, “When is my turn to die, when will I become like them.” Then and there she realises that she is a lucky sod.
Anishka is a Sri Lankan Tamil. Her grandparents were raised and born in Sri Lanka. They later died due to health problems and poor Anishka was taken in by an Indian Tamil family. The Indian Tamils were shipped to Sri Lanka by the British in 1940s. The British gave good benefits to the Indian Tamils over the local Sri Lankans. This angered many Sri Lankans and when the British left in 1948 and granted Sri Lanka its independence, the Sri Lankans decided to take their revenge slowly by changing some policies. Little had they known that the changes would results in millions getting killed.
It all began in1948 when Anishka’s foster parents went to try and get her citizenship rights has her legal parents had left her with no identity documents. They approached the government house and noticed that there was a long cue made up of mostly Tamils, who were there to also get citizenship rights. It was a hot day and they cue stretched out of the building into the hot scotching sun. They waited for hours and hours with the cue barely moving. The sky was steadily growing dark as they finally entered the building. As the people were leaving the building, Anishka noticed how disappointed they looked. Some were crying on their knees and begging for citizenship so that their children can go to school and have a better life. While others were willing to sell some of their kids so that they themselves can have citizenship rights and live a better life. Tension and suspense had filled the atmosphere of those waiting in the queue.
“Next,” A women from the counter shouted. Realising it was their turn, Anishka took here mums hand and they headed for the counter.“Madam, this is Anishka, her parents died of illness and I took her in. they left her with no documents so I came to apply for citizenship for her.” Said Anishka’s mum.“Are you originally from Sri Lanka,” asked the woman in an inhuman manner.“No madam, I’m from India” answered my mum“Then I’m sorry but we can’t grant your daughter citizenship, what if she is really your child and you lying on her behalf” “No madam she is not, please madam please, she has been through a lot. Pleas help her,” pleaded my mum in agony.“Please don’t waste my time, next” she shouted with a sly smile across her face, as she turned her attention to the next person.
A puddle of tears filled my eyes as I left the building. My mum picked me and told me,
“Hey Nish, its going to be okay, I want you to walk with your head high, don’t worry as long as we are together it will be fine. Now let me see a smile on your pretty little face”
Anishka wiped her eyes, gave her mum a hug and they walked out of the building together and headed home. As they approached their village in south western Sri Lanka they sensesed that something was wrong. There were people walking out of the village with a small plastic bags which contained their belongings. Smoke filled Anishka’s lungs as she scanned the place to see what was going. Her mum pulled and began running towards what was left of their house only to noticed that it had been consumed in the fire. She noticed a white note on the floor. She picked it up and slowly began to read it. Her hands began shivering and her legs trembled as she read the words that were written on them:
“Tamils aren’t welcome here anymore; go back to where you came from and stop polluting our air.”
Filled with shocked she turned to Anishka trying hard to fight back her tears, and told her that what she watched on TV had now come to our village and it was time for them to go. She assured her that it’s going to be okay but realised that her words sounded fake to her ears to. Anishka, her mum and other Tamils living in the area, headed to the highlands to join the majority Indian Tamils that were living there.
On the way there they met an old friend by name of Vengadesh, who was also an Indian Tamil. He was Anishka’s guardian who found a family for her after her parents died. He was the breadwinner of his family and he was helping Anishka to.“What’s wrong, why do u look so down.”“The government says that we should learn Sinhalese within 3 years if not we can not work their anymore, said Vengadesh.
Anishka failed to understand why he couldn’t learn a new language because to her three years was a long time. Little did she know that Vengadesh was illiterate and therefore it will be nearly impossible to learn a new language. She gave him a hug, wiped his tears and told him not to worry that everything would be okay. Taken aback by what she did, he put a small smile on his face and told her she was right. Little did she know that this was just the beginning of struggle that would take years to end, a journey just begun.
Many Tamils were outraged by the way they were being treated by the Sinhalese. A small group of angry Tamils began a movement called the ltte. This movement began fighting against the Sri Lankan armies as they felt that their were being unfairly treated and there was nobody there to listen to them. The movement was set up in the highlands were Anishka stayed with her mum, because there were lot of Tamils there, the Sri Lankan armies began bombing the highlands and other parts full of Tamils. Young boys were taken away from their families and made to fight in there war. Everyday Anishka and her mum lived in fear of their lives. Riots were taking place all. There were bodies of dead innocent children and women who were at the wrong place at a wrong time. People around the village lived their lives not knowing when their time was coming.
The fighting continued over a long period of time. Young children such as Anishka were denied a childhood that people around the world take for granted. All they woke up to was dead bodies and each day they slept in fear of their lives wondering when it will be their turn.
Anishka sits alone in the dark late at night, cat on her lap dog by her side, the television is on. She cannot sleep but that is about the only problem. As she focuses her attention on the television, all she sees are people brutally being murdered, women crying and effortlessly struggling to leave behind the remains of their dying children whose body parts were scattered by bombs and lives been lost with a blink of an eye. A tear slowly begins to trickle down her smooth delicate face as she murmur these words to herself without fail to stop, “When is my turn to die, when will I become like them.” Then and there she realises that she is a lucky sod.
Anishka is a Sri Lankan Tamil. Her grandparents were raised and born in Sri Lanka. They later died due to health problems and poor Anishka was taken in by an Indian Tamil family. The Indian Tamils were shipped to Sri Lanka by the British in 1940s. The British gave good benefits to the Indian Tamils over the local Sri Lankans. This angered many Sri Lankans and when the British left in 1948 and granted Sri Lanka its independence, the Sri Lankans decided to take their revenge slowly by changing some policies. Little had they known that the changes would results in millions getting killed.
It all began in1948 when Anishka’s foster parents went to try and get her citizenship rights has her legal parents had left her with no identity documents. They approached the government house and noticed that there was a long cue made up of mostly Tamils, who were there to also get citizenship rights. It was a hot day and they cue stretched out of the building into the hot scotching sun. They waited for hours and hours with the cue barely moving. The sky was steadily growing dark as they finally entered the building. As the people were leaving the building, Anishka noticed how disappointed they looked. Some were crying on their knees and begging for citizenship so that their children can go to school and have a better life. While others were willing to sell some of their kids so that they themselves can have citizenship rights and live a better life. Tension and suspense had filled the atmosphere of those waiting in the queue.
“Next,” A women from the counter shouted. Realising it was their turn, Anishka took here mums hand and they headed for the counter.“Madam, this is Anishka, her parents died of illness and I took her in. they left her with no documents so I came to apply for citizenship for her.” Said Anishka’s mum.“Are you originally from Sri Lanka,” asked the woman in an inhuman manner.“No madam, I’m from India” answered my mum“Then I’m sorry but we can’t grant your daughter citizenship, what if she is really your child and you lying on her behalf” “No madam she is not, please madam please, she has been through a lot. Pleas help her,” pleaded my mum in agony.“Please don’t waste my time, next” she shouted with a sly smile across her face, as she turned her attention to the next person.
A puddle of tears filled my eyes as I left the building. My mum picked me and told me,
“Hey Nish, its going to be okay, I want you to walk with your head high, don’t worry as long as we are together it will be fine. Now let me see a smile on your pretty little face”
Anishka wiped her eyes, gave her mum a hug and they walked out of the building together and headed home. As they approached their village in south western Sri Lanka they sensesed that something was wrong. There were people walking out of the village with a small plastic bags which contained their belongings. Smoke filled Anishka’s lungs as she scanned the place to see what was going. Her mum pulled and began running towards what was left of their house only to noticed that it had been consumed in the fire. She noticed a white note on the floor. She picked it up and slowly began to read it. Her hands began shivering and her legs trembled as she read the words that were written on them:
“Tamils aren’t welcome here anymore; go back to where you came from and stop polluting our air.”
Filled with shocked she turned to Anishka trying hard to fight back her tears, and told her that what she watched on TV had now come to our village and it was time for them to go. She assured her that it’s going to be okay but realised that her words sounded fake to her ears to. Anishka, her mum and other Tamils living in the area, headed to the highlands to join the majority Indian Tamils that were living there.
On the way there they met an old friend by name of Vengadesh, who was also an Indian Tamil. He was Anishka’s guardian who found a family for her after her parents died. He was the breadwinner of his family and he was helping Anishka to.“What’s wrong, why do u look so down.”“The government says that we should learn Sinhalese within 3 years if not we can not work their anymore, said Vengadesh.
Anishka failed to understand why he couldn’t learn a new language because to her three years was a long time. Little did she know that Vengadesh was illiterate and therefore it will be nearly impossible to learn a new language. She gave him a hug, wiped his tears and told him not to worry that everything would be okay. Taken aback by what she did, he put a small smile on his face and told her she was right. Little did she know that this was just the beginning of struggle that would take years to end, a journey just begun.
Many Tamils were outraged by the way they were being treated by the Sinhalese. A small group of angry Tamils began a movement called the ltte. This movement began fighting against the Sri Lankan armies as they felt that their were being unfairly treated and there was nobody there to listen to them. The movement was set up in the highlands were Anishka stayed with her mum, because there were lot of Tamils there, the Sri Lankan armies began bombing the highlands and other parts full of Tamils. Young boys were taken away from their families and made to fight in there war. Everyday Anishka and her mum lived in fear of their lives. Riots were taking place all. There were bodies of dead innocent children and women who were at the wrong place at a wrong time. People around the village lived their lives not knowing when their time was coming.
The fighting continued over a long period of time. Young children such as Anishka were denied a childhood that people around the world take for granted. All they woke up to was dead bodies and each day they slept in fear of their lives wondering when it will be their turn.
Tuesday 14 July 2009
english
Narrative
Narrative
Anishka sits alone in the dark late at night, cat on her lap dog by her side, the television is on. She can’t sleep but that’s about the only problem. As she focuses his attention on the television, all he sees are people brutally being murdered, women crying and effortlessly struggling to leave behind the remains of their dying children whose body parts are scattered by bombs and lives been lost with a blink of an eye.
Anishka is a Sri Lankan Tamil. Her grandparents were raised and born here. They later died due to health problems and poor Anishka was taken in by an Indian Tamil family. The Indian Tamils were shipped to Sri Lanka by the British. The British gave good benefits to the Indian Tamils over the local Sri Lankan. This angered many Sri LankanS and when the British left 1948 in and Sri Lanka was an independent country the Sri LankanS decided to take their revenge slowly by changing some policies.
It all began in1948 when Anishka’s foster parents went to try and get her citizenship rights has her legal parents had left her with no identity documents. They approached the government house and noticed that their was a long cue made up of mostly Tamils, who were cuing to also get citizenship rights. It was a hot day and they cue stretched out of the building into the hot scotching sun. They waited for hours and hours with the cue barely moving. The sky was steadily growing dark as they finally entered the building. As the people were exiting the building, Anishka noticed of disappointed they looked. Some were crying on their knees and begging for citizenship so that their children can go to school and have a better life. While others yelling and pleading with the officers. Tension and suspense had filled the atmosphere of those waiting in the queue.
“Next,” A women from the counter shouted. Realising it was their turn, Anishka took here mums hand and they headed for the counter.“Madam, this is Anishka, her parents died of illness and I took her in. they left her with no documents so I came to apply for citizenship for her.” Said Anishka’s mum.“Are you originally from Sri Lanka,” asked the woman in an inhuman manner.“No madam, I’m from India” answered my mum“Then I’m sorry but we can’t grant your daughter citizenship, what if she is really your child and you lying on her behalf” “No madam she is not, please madam please, she has been through a lot. Pleas help her,” pleaded my mum in agony.“Please don’t waste my time, next” she shouted with a sly smile across her face, as she turned her attention to the next person.
A puddle of tears filled my eyes as I left the building. My mum picked me and told me,
“Hey Nish, its going to be okay, I want you to walk with your head high, don’t worry as long as we are together it will be fine. Now let me see a smile on your pretty little face”
Anishka wiped her eyes, gave her mum a hug and they walked out of the building together and headed home. As they approached their village in south western Sri Lanka they sensesed that something was wrong. There were people walking out of the village with a small plastic bags which contained their belongings. Smoke filled Anishka’s lungs as she scanned the place to see what was going. Her mum pulled and began running towards what was left of their house only to noticed that it had been consumed in the fire. She noticed a white note on the floor. She picked it up and slowly began to read it. Her hands began shivering and her legs trembled as she read the words that were written on them:
“Tamils aren’t welcome here anymore; go back to where you came from and stop polluting our air.”
Filled with shocked she turned to Anishka trying hard to fight back her tears, and told her that what she watched on TV had now come to our village and it was time for them to go. She assured her that it’s going to be okay but realised that her words sounded fake to her ears to. Anishka, her mum and other Tamils living in the area, headed to the highlands to join the majority Indian Tamils that were living there.
On the way there they met an old friend by name of Vengadesh, who was also an Indian Tamil. He was Anishka’s guardian who found a family for her after her parents died. He was the breadwinner of his family and he was helping Anishka to.“What’s wrong, why do u look so down.”“The government says that we should learn Sinhalese within 3 years if not we can not work their anymore, said Vengadesh.
Anishka failed to understand why he couldn’t learn a new language because to her three years was a long time. Little did she know that Vengadesh was illiterate and therefore it will be nearly impossible to learn a new language. She gave him a hug, wiped his tears and told him not to worry that everything would be okay. Taken aback by what she did, he put a small smile on his face and told her she was right. Little did she know that this was just the beginning of struggle that would take years to end, a journey just begun.
Many Tamils were outraged by the way they were being treated by the Sinhalese. A small group of angry Tamils began a movement called the ltte. This movement began fighting against the Sri Lankan armies as they felt that their were being unfairly treated and there was nobody there to listen to them. The movement was set up in the highlands were Anishka stayed with her mum, because there were lot of Tamils there, the Sri Lankan armies began bombing the highlands and other parts full of Tamils. Young boys were taken away from their families and made to fight in there war. Everyday Anishka and her mum lived in fear of their lives. Riots were taking place all. There were bodies of dead innocent children and women who were at the wrong place at a wrong time. People around the village lived their lives not knowing when their time was coming.
The fighting continued over a long period of time. Young children such as Anishka were denied a childhood that people around the world take for granted. All they woke up to was dead bodies and each day they slept in fear of their lives wondering when it will be their turn.
Narrative
Anishka sits alone in the dark late at night, cat on her lap dog by her side, the television is on. She can’t sleep but that’s about the only problem. As she focuses his attention on the television, all he sees are people brutally being murdered, women crying and effortlessly struggling to leave behind the remains of their dying children whose body parts are scattered by bombs and lives been lost with a blink of an eye.
Anishka is a Sri Lankan Tamil. Her grandparents were raised and born here. They later died due to health problems and poor Anishka was taken in by an Indian Tamil family. The Indian Tamils were shipped to Sri Lanka by the British. The British gave good benefits to the Indian Tamils over the local Sri Lankan. This angered many Sri LankanS and when the British left 1948 in and Sri Lanka was an independent country the Sri LankanS decided to take their revenge slowly by changing some policies.
It all began in1948 when Anishka’s foster parents went to try and get her citizenship rights has her legal parents had left her with no identity documents. They approached the government house and noticed that their was a long cue made up of mostly Tamils, who were cuing to also get citizenship rights. It was a hot day and they cue stretched out of the building into the hot scotching sun. They waited for hours and hours with the cue barely moving. The sky was steadily growing dark as they finally entered the building. As the people were exiting the building, Anishka noticed of disappointed they looked. Some were crying on their knees and begging for citizenship so that their children can go to school and have a better life. While others yelling and pleading with the officers. Tension and suspense had filled the atmosphere of those waiting in the queue.
“Next,” A women from the counter shouted. Realising it was their turn, Anishka took here mums hand and they headed for the counter.“Madam, this is Anishka, her parents died of illness and I took her in. they left her with no documents so I came to apply for citizenship for her.” Said Anishka’s mum.“Are you originally from Sri Lanka,” asked the woman in an inhuman manner.“No madam, I’m from India” answered my mum“Then I’m sorry but we can’t grant your daughter citizenship, what if she is really your child and you lying on her behalf” “No madam she is not, please madam please, she has been through a lot. Pleas help her,” pleaded my mum in agony.“Please don’t waste my time, next” she shouted with a sly smile across her face, as she turned her attention to the next person.
A puddle of tears filled my eyes as I left the building. My mum picked me and told me,
“Hey Nish, its going to be okay, I want you to walk with your head high, don’t worry as long as we are together it will be fine. Now let me see a smile on your pretty little face”
Anishka wiped her eyes, gave her mum a hug and they walked out of the building together and headed home. As they approached their village in south western Sri Lanka they sensesed that something was wrong. There were people walking out of the village with a small plastic bags which contained their belongings. Smoke filled Anishka’s lungs as she scanned the place to see what was going. Her mum pulled and began running towards what was left of their house only to noticed that it had been consumed in the fire. She noticed a white note on the floor. She picked it up and slowly began to read it. Her hands began shivering and her legs trembled as she read the words that were written on them:
“Tamils aren’t welcome here anymore; go back to where you came from and stop polluting our air.”
Filled with shocked she turned to Anishka trying hard to fight back her tears, and told her that what she watched on TV had now come to our village and it was time for them to go. She assured her that it’s going to be okay but realised that her words sounded fake to her ears to. Anishka, her mum and other Tamils living in the area, headed to the highlands to join the majority Indian Tamils that were living there.
On the way there they met an old friend by name of Vengadesh, who was also an Indian Tamil. He was Anishka’s guardian who found a family for her after her parents died. He was the breadwinner of his family and he was helping Anishka to.“What’s wrong, why do u look so down.”“The government says that we should learn Sinhalese within 3 years if not we can not work their anymore, said Vengadesh.
Anishka failed to understand why he couldn’t learn a new language because to her three years was a long time. Little did she know that Vengadesh was illiterate and therefore it will be nearly impossible to learn a new language. She gave him a hug, wiped his tears and told him not to worry that everything would be okay. Taken aback by what she did, he put a small smile on his face and told her she was right. Little did she know that this was just the beginning of struggle that would take years to end, a journey just begun.
Many Tamils were outraged by the way they were being treated by the Sinhalese. A small group of angry Tamils began a movement called the ltte. This movement began fighting against the Sri Lankan armies as they felt that their were being unfairly treated and there was nobody there to listen to them. The movement was set up in the highlands were Anishka stayed with her mum, because there were lot of Tamils there, the Sri Lankan armies began bombing the highlands and other parts full of Tamils. Young boys were taken away from their families and made to fight in there war. Everyday Anishka and her mum lived in fear of their lives. Riots were taking place all. There were bodies of dead innocent children and women who were at the wrong place at a wrong time. People around the village lived their lives not knowing when their time was coming.
The fighting continued over a long period of time. Young children such as Anishka were denied a childhood that people around the world take for granted. All they woke up to was dead bodies and each day they slept in fear of their lives wondering when it will be their turn.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
